The present invention relates to a can crushing apparatus and in particular a lever-arm-type crushing device for crushing cans, such as aluminum beverage containers.
Increased environmental awareness along with government sponsored recycling programs have stimulated the recycling of metal containers, particularly extruded aluminum and steel beverage containers. Numerous devices have been developed to crush metal cans to facilitate handling and storage during the recycling process. Lever-arm-type can crushing devices have been found to be particularly well adapted for home or office use where it is practical to crush one can at a time.
In general, the lever-arm-type can crushing devices include a base and a lever arm hingedly connected to the base by a hinge. A can is positioned on the base and the lever arm is advanced towards the base so as to crush the can positioned therebetween. Many recent improvements in lever-arm-type crushing devices have focused on securing the container to be crushed in place relative to the base and the lever arm so that the container is not forced from between the base and lever arm during crushing. In particular the base of such crushing devices typically include support means adapted to support a can in a slightly angled upright alignment wherein the top of the can is angled toward the hinge. The lever arm initially engages a can to be crushed on a side of an upper surface of the can closest the hinge. The lever arm of such crushing devices typically includes means for engaging a rim of the can on a side of the can closest the hinge for preventing the upper portion of the can from being displaced horizontally from beneath the lever arm as the lever arm is subsequently advanced towards the base. When such crushing devices are used to crush a can, the base of the can generally remains stationary and the upper surface of the can is driven downward and horizontally away from the hinge by the lever arm as it is advanced arcuately towards the base such that after crushing the upper surface of the can is generally aligned over the bottom of the can.
After crushing a can with such can crushing devices, typically the user must manually remove or move the crushed can relative to the crushing device and deposit the crushed can in a receptacle. In addition the lever-arm-type can crushing devices typically are designed to be stored separate from the receptacle in which the crushed cans are deposited.
Can crushing devices have been developed that can be secured to a receptacle so as to extend across the receptacle opening and wherein the can automatically falls into the receptacle after it is crushed. In one such device, the base of the device includes an opening smaller than an uncrushed can. The opening is located adjacent a stationary wall. A can to be crushed is laid on its side between the stationary wall and a movable wall such that a portion of the can extends across the opening. The movable wall is connected to a lever arm by a linkage such that when the lever arm is arcuately advanced from a vertical to a horizontal alignment the movable wall is driven horizontally towards the stationary wall so as to crush the can positioned therebetween. The crushed can is smaller than the opening and when the movable wall is subsequently advanced away from the stationary Wall, the crushed can falls through the opening into the receptacle. However, such a device would be unsuitable for many receptacles because the horizontally directed force required to crush the can would cause many receptacles to tip, during the crushing procedure if not held down securely. Also, such a device involves more moving parts and is more difficult to manufacture than standard lever-arm type-can crushing devices as described above.